The hugely successful April Cornell brand recently marked more than three decades of creating lifestyle designs that celebrate the every day. April’s unmistakable artistic style, along with the brand’s name recognition, reputation, and decades-long history, has garnered her namesake brand a sizeable niche in the lifestyle marketplace.
From the first sketch of a flower to the finishing velvet trim of a blouse, April is an integral part of the entire manufacturing process. Design, marketing, logistics and licensing are conducted from our Vermont office. A closely knit group of co-workers collaborate, creating an artistic web of ideas and business deadlines that are growing the company every day.
Cornell Overseas is the Indian branch of our company's family tree. At our Indian office, we employ over 250 people directly, from management to production. Many hands contribute to each and every piece that we produce. Often our prints start as an inspiration from the landscape of India–an arched window, a preening bird, a gnarled branch. At the drawing table, April works with our art staff to transform these visual images into the rich and colorful designs of our linens and apparel. Color and design are the hallmarks of the April Cornell collections. Color recipes are blended to perfection, from rich and saturated to delicately refined. Expert craftsmen use these recipes to hand screen each and every piece. Our manufacturing unit is responsible for the production of over a half of a million garments a year. Working together to meet the highest of standards, our team of quality control supervisors visit every unit, checks every fabric, and ensures that every detail that makes April Cornell special is perfect and complete.
After four years in business and thanks to April’s wealth of design experience and a dedicated licensing strategy, the licensing firm of April Cornell Holdings Ltd., led by April Cornell and Mark Timm (President, Grace Licensing) is making impressive inroads into the licensing industry. At this stage in the firm’s licensing program, Timm reports, “We’re thrilled at not only the quality but commitment level of all our partners."
With a library of more than 30,000 art images and a tremendous desire to continue to create and design, April is choosing to diversify her brand to encompass both retail and licensing channels. “It’s an incredibly synergistic way of expressing April’s artistic talent in the licensing arena,” says Timm. “The beauty is that April can now do what she is absolutley best at and the most passionate about -- and then turn her designs and artwork over to a trusted manufacturing partner."
April frequently shares her design knowledge and inventive ideas with women at events, seminars and conferences around the United States. When speaking on topics like color, scale and art, or how to create new holiday traditions, she often incorporates hands-on, how-to decorating tips into the presentation. A gifted writer and a natural in front of the camera, April will pursue opportunities to share these talents with media channels, including lifestyle and ladies’ fashion magazines.